Philautia || Amour Éternel Series BOOK ONE ||

Twenty - CALLIE

"Uh - sure. It wasn't important. Just text me when you get a chance," Shannon said. "Have fun tonight. You deserve it."

He ended the call and Bridget put the phone back down on the counter. "We've got about an hour before we need to head over. So make it snappy, ladies."

Callie closed her eyes as the makeup artist applied eye shadow to her eyelids and when she opened them, it was like she was looking into a completely different version of herself. The makeup was minimal; the artist had outdone herself. She was glowing and her curls bounced gently around her head. They had been tamed a bit, but they were still a little bushy.

"You look fantastic,"  one of the wardrobe girls said. Callie vaguely recognized her from the photo shoot with Matthew. "Mr. Ford sent along a few dresses for you to pick, but he thinks the short one will work the best."

Callie walked over to the garment rack where three dresses hung. There were two longer ones, dragging along the floor and a short one with hundreds of little eyelets in the fabric. She reached out and touched the fabric. It looked vaguely familiar.

"Did I wear this one before?" she asked.

The assistant shook her head. "No. It's from the new collection. Mr. Ford thinks this one is perfect because of the back."

The young woman took the hanger off the rod and turned the dress around. The dress featured a deep V running down the back, stopping about twelve inches from the hem.

"It's a bit daring," Callie remarked.

"I like it. I think it'll work really well to get the press's attention," Bridget said, evaluating the dress, cell phone in hand. "You should definitely pick this one."

Callie felt her palms start to sweat. The entire evening was getting to be too much for her. These people she didn't know touching her and telling her how to dress. Bridget controlling every spare second she had. Her chest started to contract and she gulped.

"Yeah - sure. Whatever you think is best," she answered with a slight nod.

"You've got about twenty minutes with her before the car gets here," Bridget said without looking up from her phone. "We can't be late."

Callie allowed the wardrobe girl to pull her robe off and slide the dress onto her body, fastening it with ease. The shoulders were slightly poofy and the neckline was fairly high, but when she turned around, Callie saw the large swathe of skin shown off on her back. Bridget sighed and brought her hands together happily.

"You look fantastic," she smiled. "We'd better put you in some higher heels; Tom will tower over you. It won't make for good photos."

"Got it covered," the wardrobe girl said, holding up a pair of silver four-inch heels. "Think you can walk in these?" she asked Callie.

Callie chuckled lightly. "It's all I do every day at work. I'll be fine."

When she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she was herded out of the hotel room, she didn't recognize her own reflection. She looked more like her character on SANCTUM than Callie Morrison. She was put into a waiting car by Bridget and she pulled her phone out of her clutch as she sat in the back seat.

On my way to the premiere. What did you want to talk about earlier? she texted Shannon, taking advantage of the brief moment of almost-solitude. Her phone buzzed a second later.

Just wanted to see how you were doing. Sorry I forgot about the premiere. I'm such a dick.

She smiled. It's fine. I'm kind of panicking a bit at the moment. She sat back in her seat, angling her phone away from Bridget. It's all just a bit much, she added.